Meaning
to use
Chinese: 使用、用途。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “yong” becomes a different word in each tone. 用 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 不用bù yòngneed not
- 有用yǒu yònguseful
- 使用shǐ yòngto use; to employ; to apply; to make use of
- 作用zuò yòngto act on; to affect; action; function
- 信用卡xìn yòng kǎcredit card
Example Sentence
我用筷子吃饭。Wǒ yòng kuài zi chī fàn.I eat with chopsticks.
我WǒI用yòngto use筷子kuài zichopsticks吃饭chī fànto have a meal。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph whose origin is debated (read by various scholars as a bucket, a bell, or a fence/sign of permission). It settled on the meaning ‘to use, employ; usefulness; expense; with’ (使用, 用处, 不用).
A way to remember it
The everyday ‘to use’: 用一下 (use it a sec), 有用 (useful).